Barry Humphries facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Barry Humphries
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Humphries in 2001
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John Barry Humphries
17 February 1934 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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| Died | 22 April 2023 (aged 89) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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| Alma mater | University of Melbourne |
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| Children | 4, including Tessa and Oscar |
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John Barry Humphries AO CBE (born 17 February 1934 – died 22 April 2023) was a famous Australian performer, comedian, actor, author, and artist. He was best known for creating and playing his popular stage and television characters, especially Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. Many people, including his biographer Anne Pender, thought Humphries was one of the most important comedians since Charlie Chaplin.
Humphries' characters became famous all over the world. He performed in many plays, movies, and TV shows. Dame Edna Everage started as a simple housewife from Moonee Ponds, Australia. She was a funny take on how some people in the suburbs were a bit too proud and didn't know much about the outside world. Over 40 years, Dame Edna changed into a huge star. She became a "Housewife Gigastar" who wore flashy clothes, spoke her mind, and loved being the center of attention.
Humphries also created other funny characters. One was Sir Les Patterson, a messy and rude Australian cultural representative. He often caused funny trouble for Australian arts and culture around the world. Another character was Sandy Stone, a kind, older gentleman who had returned from war. Humphries also created characters like Martin Agrippa, a 1960s filmmaker, and Barry McKenzie, a typical Australian guy.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Barry Humphries was born on 17 February 1934 in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. His father, Eric Humphries, was a construction manager, and his mother was Louisa Agnes. His family was quite wealthy, and Barry grew up in a nice, modern home in Camberwell.
His childhood home helped shape his future career. His father didn't spend much time with him, so Barry often played dress-up in the garden. He found that making people laugh made him feel good and helped him make friends.
Disguising myself as different characters and I had a whole box of dressing up clothes ... Red Indian, sailor suit, Chinese costume and I was very spoiled in that way ... I also found that entertaining people gave me a great feeling of release, making people laugh was a very good way of befriending them. People couldn't hit you if they were laughing.
When Barry was a teenager, he started to rebel against the normal suburban life. He became very interested in art, which worried his parents. A big moment happened when he was nine: his mother gave away all his books, saying, "But you've read them, Barry." This made Humphries become a huge reader and collector of rare books. He also became a painter and loved the theatre. He even created his first character, "Dr Aaron Azimuth," a mysterious and artistic person.
School Days
Humphries first went to Camberwell Grammar School. Later, as his father's business grew, he went to Melbourne Grammar School. There, he didn't like sports or math. He did very well in English and Art. Humphries himself later joked that he was "self-educated" but also "attended Melbourne Grammar School."
After school, Humphries studied Law, Philosophy, and Fine Arts at the University of Melbourne for two years. He also served in the army for a short time. He didn't finish his degree, but he later received an honorary doctorate almost 50 years later. During this time, he became interested in Dada, an art movement that used humor and nonsense to challenge ideas.
Humphries created some funny Dada-inspired pranks in Melbourne that are still talked about today. For example, he once displayed "Puss in Boots," which was a pair of Wellington boots filled with custard. He also made a fake pesticide called "Platytox" that claimed to kill platypuses, which are protected animals in Australia. He was part of a group that made early experimental music recordings in Australia, calling their music "Wubbo Music" (meaning "nothing").
Career Highlights
Starting in Australia
Barry Humphries began his career by writing and performing songs and sketches in university shows. After leaving university, he joined the Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC). This is where he first created his most famous character, Edna Everage. Mrs. Norm Everage first appeared in a sketch called "Olympic Hostess" in Melbourne in 1955.
In his autobiography, More Please (1992), Humphries said he first thought of a character like Edna on a bus trip when he was 20. He thanked his mentor, Peter O'Shaughnessy, for helping Edna and another character, Sandy Stone, become successful.
In 1957, Humphries moved to Sydney and joined the Phillip Street Theatre. This theatre became a top spot for comedy in Australia. Humphries brought back the Edna character, and she became very popular, helping to start his long career. While living near Bondi, he met an elderly man with a unique voice and way of speaking. This meeting inspired him to create another beloved character, Sandy Stone.
In 1958, Humphries made his first commercial recording, an album called Wild Life in Suburbia.
London and the 1960s
In 1959, Humphries moved to London, England, where he lived and worked throughout the 1960s. He became friends with many famous British comedians like Dudley Moore and Peter Cook. Humphries also wrote for the satirical magazine Private Eye.
He performed in many plays in London's West End, including the musicals Oliver! and Maggie May. In 1960, he played the undertaker Mr. Sowerberry in the original London production of Oliver!. He later played Fagin in a 1967 revival of Oliver! which featured a young Phil Collins as the Artful Dodger. In 1997, Humphries played Fagin again at the London Palladium.
In 1961, Humphries had a scary accident in Cornwall when he fell off a cliff. He broke some bones and had to be rescued by helicopter. News crews filmed the rescue.
His friendship with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore led to his first movie role in Bedazzled (1967). The next year, he appeared in The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom with Shirley MacLaine.
Humphries found his true calling with his one-man stage shows. In these shows, he performed as Edna Everage, Les Patterson, and Sandy Stone. His first London one-man show in 1962 didn't get great reviews. But his 1969 show, Just a Show, became very popular and led to a BBC TV series called The Barry Humphries Scandals.
1970s and Film Roles
In 1970, Humphries returned to Australia. In 1971–72, he helped create a movie version of the Barry McKenzie cartoons called The Adventures of Barry McKenzie. Humphries co-wrote the script and played three different characters in the film. Even though critics didn't like it, the movie was a huge hit with audiences in Australia.
From the late 1960s, Humphries appeared in many films, usually in smaller roles. Some of his movie credits include Bedazzled (1967), The Great Macarthy (1975), and Barry McKenzie Holds His Own (1974). In the latter, Dame Edna was even made a "dame" by the Australian Prime Minister at the time.
He also appeared in The Getting of Wisdom (1977) and had a small role as Edna in the musical film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978). In 1981, he played Bert Schnick in Shock Treatment, a sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Later film roles included Count Metternich in Immortal Beloved (1994), and parts in Spice World (1997) and Nicholas Nickleby (2002).
In 2003, Humphries provided the voice for Bruce the shark in the Pixar animated movie Finding Nemo. He used a very strong Australian accent for the character.
In 2011, Humphries traveled to New Zealand to play the Great Goblin in Peter Jackson's movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. He joked about the special effects used for his character:
It was thrilling to work on this film and when you see my extraordinary interpretation you realise why I immediately fell into the arms of Jenny Craig, and minor cosmetic surgery. I always thought motion capture was something you did when you were taking a specimen at the doctor.
In 2015, he voiced Wombo the Wombat in Blinky Bill the Movie. In 2016, he appeared in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie as two different characters.
One-Man Shows and Farewell
Humphries was best known for his one-man stage shows. In these shows, he would perform as Dame Edna Everage, Sir Les Patterson, and Sandy Stone. These shows were usually two and a half hours long, with funny monologues, songs, and audience participation.
He had many successful shows in London and toured them internationally. His 1976 London show, Housewife, Superstar!, was a big hit. However, when he took the show to New York in 1977, it wasn't as successful.
Some of his later one-man shows included:
- A Night with Dame Edna (1979), which won an award
- An Evening's Intercourse with Dame Edna (1982)
- Back with a Vengeance (1987–1989, 2005–2007)
- Edna, The Spectacle (1998) at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, where he set a record for a solo act.
- Dame Edna Live: The First Last Tour (2009) in the US.
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In March 2012, Humphries announced he was retiring from live performances. He said he was "beginning to feel a bit senior." His "Farewell Tour," called "Eat, Pray, Laugh!", started in Australia in July 2012 and ended in February 2013. The show featured Dame Edna, Sir Les Patterson, and Sandy Stone. The tour was very popular and received great reviews.
Television Appearances
Humphries appeared on many TV shows in Australia, the UK, and the US. In the UK, he hosted two successful series of his comedy talk show The Dame Edna Experience. This show featured many famous guests like Liza Minnelli, Sean Connery, and Dusty Springfield. These shows were very popular and won awards.
He also wrote and starred in The Life and Death of Sandy Stone (1991) for ABC-TV in Australia. Other TV specials included Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch (1992) and Dame Edna's Hollywood (1991–92), which featured American celebrities like Burt Reynolds and Cher.
In 1977, Dame Edna even appeared on the famous US comedy show Saturday Night Live. In 2007, Humphries hosted another comedy talk show in the UK called The Dame Edna Treatment, with guests like Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver.
In 2008, Humphries was a judge on the BBC talent show I'd Do Anything, which looked for a new actress to play Nancy in the musical Oliver!. In 2013, he joined the cast of the Australian TV movie series Jack Irish, playing a judge.
Success in the United States
In 2000, Humphries took his Dame Edna: The Royal Tour show to North America. It was a huge success, winning a special Tony Award in 2000 and two Touring Broadway Awards in 2001. When asked what it was like to win a Tony Award, he joked it was like winning "a thousand Gold Logies at the same time."
Dame Edna's popularity in America led to more opportunities, including a role in the TV series Ally McBeal.
Famous Characters
Dame Edna Everage
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Dame Edna Everage was Barry Humphries' most famous and long-lasting character. She started as a funny look at Australian suburban life, but over time, she became a hilarious parody of a modern, self-important celebrity. As journalist Caroline Overington described her:
a perfect parody of a modern, vainglorious celebrity with a rampant ego and a strong aversion to the audience (whom celebrities pretend to love but actually, as Edna so boldly makes transparent, they actually loathe for their cheap shoes and suburban values)
One of the most recognizable things about Dame Edna was her amazing, colorful costumes, often covered in Australian symbols like the flag, native animals, and the Sydney Opera House. Her unique, outlandish glasses were inspired by a real-life eccentric woman from Melbourne.
As the character grew, Edna's unseen family became a big part of the humor. This included her husband Norm, who had a long-running prostate problem, her daughter Valmai, and her gay son Kenny. Her loyal New Zealand bridesmaid, Madge Allsop, played by English actress Emily Perry, was also a key part of the act until Perry's death in 2008.
Dame Edna successfully moved from the stage to TV. Her talk show format allowed Humphries to improvise and reach a wider audience. Edna would often joke that she helped famous Australian actors like "little Nicole Kidman" get their start.
Sir Les Patterson
Sir Les Patterson was another of Humphries' characters. He was a messy, rude, and often crude Australian cultural representative. He would appear in Humphries' stage shows alongside Edna and Sandy Stone, and in pre-recorded parts of Dame Edna's TV shows. Sir Les was the opposite of Dame Edna: she was a refined lady from Melbourne, while he was a rougher character from Sydney.
Sandy Stone
Sandy Stone was an older Australian man, who was either single or married with a daughter who had passed away as a child. Humphries once said that as he got older, he started to understand and feel like Sandy Stone himself. As Humphries aged, he didn't even need makeup to play the part, often just wearing his own dressing gown.
Personal Life
Barry Humphries was married four times. His first marriage was short. He had two daughters, Tessa and Emily, and two sons, Oscar and Rupert, from his second and third marriages. His elder son, Oscar, became an art curator. His fourth wife, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Spender, was an actress and the daughter of a famous British poet. They lived in London for many years.
Humphries was a good friend of the English poet John Betjeman. They shared many interests, including old architecture and music hall performances. He was also friends with the painter Arthur Boyd and the comedian Spike Milligan.
Humphries loved music, books, and art. He was a huge book collector, with about 25,000 books in his London home, many of them rare first editions. He was also an art collector and a landscape painter himself. His paintings are in collections in Australia and other countries. Many artists also painted portraits of Humphries, including Clifton Pugh and John Brack (who painted him as Dame Edna).
Humphries supported young Australian performing artists in the UK through the Tait Memorial Trust.
Barry Humphries had two brothers and a sister in Melbourne. His brother Christopher was an architect, his brother Michael was a teacher and historian, and his sister Barbara was a former schoolteacher.
Death
Barry Humphries passed away on 22 April 2023, at the age of 89, in Sydney, Australia. He had suffered complications after hip surgery.
Filmography
- Bedazzled (1967) – Envy
- The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972) – Aunt Edna Everage / Hoot / Dr DeLamphrey
- Barry McKenzie Holds His Own (1974) – Aunt Edna Everage / Dr DeLamphrey
- Percy's Progress (1974) – Dr. Anderson / Australian TV Lady
- Side by Side (1975) – Rodney
- The Great Macarthy (1975) – Colonel Ball-Miller
- The Getting of Wisdom (1977) – Rev. Strachey
- Shock Treatment (1981) – Bert Schnick
- Dr. Fischer of Geneva (1985)
- Les Patterson Saves the World (1986) – Sir Les Patterson / Dame Edna Everage
- Immortal Beloved (1994) – Klemens von Metternich
- Napoleon (1995) – Kangaroo (voice)
- Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills (1995) – Bert / Lady shopper / Manager
- Spice World (1997) – Kevin McMaxford
- Nicholas Nickleby (2002) – Mrs. Crummles
- Finding Nemo (2003) – Bruce (voice)
- Da Kath & Kim Code (2005) telemovie – John Monk
- Mary and Max (2009) – Narrator
- The Kangaroo Gang (2011) TV documentary – Narrator
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) – Great Goblin
- Kath & Kimderella (2012) – Dame Edna Everage
- Chalky (2013) documentary
- Justin and the Knights of Valour (2013) – Braulio (voice)
- Blinky Bill the Movie (2015) – Wombo (voice)
- Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016) – Charlie and Dame Edna Everage (dual role)
- The Magical Land of Oz (2019) Australian wildlife documentary, ABC – Narrator
Discography
- Wild Life in Suburbia (1958)
- Wild Life in Suburbia Volume Two (1959)
- A Nice Night's Entertainment (1962)
- Chunder Down Under (1965)
- Barry Humphries at Carnegie Hall (1972)
- The Barry Humphries Record of Innocent Austral Verse (1972)
- Housewife Superstar! (1976)
- The Sound of Edna (1978)
Fictional Characters Created
- Dame Edna Everage (a Melbourne housewife who became a superstar)
- Sir Les Patterson (a funny Australian cultural representative)
- Sandy Stone (a gentle, elderly Australian man)
- Barry McKenzie (an Australian visitor to Britain)
Awards and Honours
- 1979: Best Comedy Performance for A Night with Dame Edna
- 1993: J. R. Ackerley Prize for Autobiography for More, Please
- 1997: Sir Peter Ustinov Award for Comedy
- 1999: British Comedy Awards – Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2000: Special Tony Award for Dame Edna: The Royal Tour
- 2007: JC Williamson Award for his life's work in Australian live performance.
- 2013: Britain-Australia Society Award for helping relations between Britain and Australia.
- 2014: Aardman Slapstick Comedy Legend Award – a lifetime achievement award.
He also received national honors:
- 1982: Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for his services to theatre.
- 2001: Centenary Medal for his service to Australian society.
- 2007: Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to entertainment.
Images for kids
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Humphries in 2001
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Humphries in 2012
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Humphries in Toronto, Canada, during Dame Edna: The Royal Tour North American tour, December 2000
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Humphries as Dame Edna, 2012
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Plaque for Humphries at the Sydney Writers Walk
See also
In Spanish: Barry Humphries para niños
